flakbait Posted May 14, 2014 Share #1 Posted May 14, 2014 Some time back I acquired a CWU-27 nomex flightsuit that had belonged to a USAF fighter pilot. IT has a 1980 contact date in the label. What was unique is that all the patches and rank have a black leatherette backing. The material was cut a little larger than the patch to give it a black edgingh and was sew to the patch and then sewn to the flight suit. The only velcro is for the name/wing block. I have attached a picture of the left shoulder which has a USAF Fighter School Graduate patch, plus the colonel's rank (encased in clear plastic) also has the leatherette backing. I had come across this before with some US Air Force Europe (USAFE) patches. Does anyone know if this practice was Air Force wide at one time or limited to USAFE? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted June 17, 2014 Share #2 Posted June 17, 2014 I've seen some back in the late 60's-70's with this too in period photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nguoi tien su Posted September 14, 2014 Share #3 Posted September 14, 2014 It was not unfrequent at Takhli RTAFB among the F-105 community in the late-1960s. (for the patches I mean). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Ragan Posted September 14, 2014 Share #4 Posted September 14, 2014 I remember seeing the officer rank on black leather but the image was embossed and no clear plastic covering. This was in the late 60's and that was stateside.. I do not recall ever seeing any unit patches done the way they are on your flight suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted September 19, 2014 Share #5 Posted September 19, 2014 Goes back to the 1950s. Here's a 4520 CCTW patch from the air to ground portion of William Tell 1958. Sewn on to leather with metal snaps on the reverse for removal in the pre-Velcro days. Leather (or an equivalent) behind patches was used AF wide at many bases, and is still seen today. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now